“You know, nothing’s really gonna change. The important thing is that I kept up my special birthday tradition of gut-wrenching misery and horror.”…Buffy Summers, “Helpless”

In the Buffyverse, today is the 33^rd birthday of Buffy Summers. Fans are quite aware of what happened to her on her 17^th to 21^st birthdays, usually game-changing disasters that had to be overcome.

However, has there been a Dark Horse issue that looked at Buffy facing the big 3-0, since the action is set around 2007 or so? It may be something she would be thinking about.

Also, isn’t 33 a bit old for Slayers? Isn’t that 175 in human years? We know Buffy got the job when she was 15, according to “Becoming” and her mentioning she had been a Slayer for a year in “The Witch”.

There have been tales of Slayers who have made it was past puberty. In the “Tales of the Slayers” book series, there’s a story called “A Good Run”, about one in Ancient Greece who lived to at least the age of 29, which was the average for people that time.

For the most part, according to the series and the comic book issue that featured the first appearance of Fray, Slayers die young, sometimes at the time of the Cruciamentum which happens at age 18.

Buffy, though, is a Slayer who has broken all the rules. She died twice, challenged the power of the Watchers’ Council, and created a world where a few extra Slayers came in handy.

If Buffy has set a record for the longest term as a Slayer, there could be a Dark Horse story about someone who thinks she should die because she’s too old to be a Slayer. It could be a religious zealot or a demon…. or both. Buffy should be proud about lasting so long, but also wonder if it means her luck is going to run out at any moment. Naturally she will survive this, and the story should include her talking to other people about this dilemma, including military veterans. This may give her a new perspective about herself and her place in Slayer history.

If there has to be a final twist, here’s one: why not have someone who tried to be a Slayer, but didn’t quite make it, suddenly become both… at 45 years young? If nothing else, her son or daughter could wind up being her Watcher. Now that’s an idea.

Anyway, happy 33^rd birthday, Buffy Summers. You’re entitled to have a lot of them, the same amount of times you saved the world.
[Buffy comic artwork by Georges Jeanty. Altered with love by Bryant Dillion of Fanboy Comics